Halure's Haunted Inn
by Baby Kat Snophlake
Summary: Brave Vesperia, tired from traveling in the mud and rain, spend the night at the inn in Halure. But are they the only ones there...?


**A/N:** Another story I found in my archives. I don't remember this one at all, but again, I enjoyed it, so I figured I'd share. Don't worry, this one isn't as weird as some of the others I've posted.

 **Halure's Haunted Inn**

Trudging in the rain with clothes soaking wet, everyone tired and hungry, and topping it off with the old man's loud complaints, Rita couldn't be happier to see the Great Tree of Halure looming overhead. They still slipped through the mud sponging beneath their feet, but it was with immense relief when Rita finally felt the wet wooded railing and stairs that led to the Halure inn. Yuri opened the front inn door and allowed the rest of the party through before him. When the door was closed, everyone tore off their hoods and basked in the gentle candlelight, the warmth from the fire, and the dryness of the inn.

"Go on ahead, I'll pay for the rooms." Yuri said. The others nodded and trailed mud up another flight of stairs to a room reserved only for them. Several beds were scattered, and within seconds of choosing their own, each member of Brave Vesperia dumped their sodden, muddy cloaks to the floor.

Rita sat down and sighed. "Oh, it's so nice to have a bed for the night. I can't wait to get some sleep."

"Yeah, no kiddin'," the old man, Raven, replied. He sprawled out on his bed, resting his arms behind his head and fell into an almost immediate light sleep. Karol, too tired to do anything more than strip his coat, simply fell face first to his pillow and started snoring. Estelle followed everyone else's lead while Repede curled up at the foot of the bed where Yuri would be sleeping.

By the time Yuri entered the room, everyone had fallen asleep, except Judith who had the habit of disappearing once everyone decided to sleep. Like her, Yuri wasn't quite tired yet and merely sat down at the edge of his bed looking around at the others. The window shutters battered against the window with a loud crack and Yuri noticed Rita jump, shivering in her sleep. He grinned.

He crawled to the floor and tested the height of the bed frame before slipping under. Repede raised his head, watching, but Yuri held a finger to his mouth as a request for silence. Repede returned his nose to hiding and ignored him. Yuri tested the floor boards until he found one that creaked and he whispered in a high voice Rita's name.

The window shuttered slammed again and Rita bolted upright. "Did you guys hear that?!"

"Hmm?" Estelle woke up but barely, raising her head.

Rita glanced around, listening as if every pore had suddenly become an ear, and waited. "There! There it is again! Someone's calling to me!"

"Huh?" Estelle, more awake now, sat up too. "What did you hear?"

Rita glanced around again. "Yuri and Judith are gone still… Where's that voice coming from?"

"Are you hearing voices, Rita?" Estelle gasped. "It's the caged emperor's bride!"

Rita squeaked, flinching at the mere thought of Halure's legend. "I-it can't be! Th-that's just a story!" But she shivered, resisting the urge to curl up in her blankets and hide until morning. But sure enough, the high-pitched whisper has once again called her name. "W-what do you want from me?! She's the one that has your veil!" Rita pointed to Estelle.

"Rita! D-don't be silly…" But Estelle rested a hang on the veil pinned to her hair. "She doesn't want it back… does she…?"

Then a thunderclap outside shook the inn. Yuri smiled at the images in his head. Rita was no doubt clinging to the safety of her blankets and Estelle was probably forcing herself not to panic. "You…" Yuri said in his feminine whisper. "You… Rita…"

"Me…?" Rita asked. "What about me? I-I-I'm not wearing that moldy old thing!"

"Is that what she wants?" Estelle frowned. "I'm not sure about that…"

Rita shook her head. "No, you're right. Of course not. She's not real. That's just a story. That's right, this is…. This is just a joke. This is…" Rita paused. "Wait a minute, I know that voice! This is Yuri!" She threw off her covers and bent to check underneath the beds. Sure enough, Yuri was curled up under his own bed grinning back at her.

"Hi, Rita. I just thought the floor would be more comfortable. Maybe you should try it."

"Like hell!" Rita reached for her sash buried with the rest of her stuff and immediately she began weaving a spell. Yuri bumped his head against the bed frame in his rush to flee, and hurried out the door with a set of fireballs chasing after him.

"Hmph!" Rita folded up her sash and stuffed it into her pocket. "This won't be the end of this!" Another thunderclap accentuated her promise.

For the next several days, Yuri looked over his shoulder even when Rita was in front of him. She had a gleam in her eyes every time that she looked at him, and the smirk on her lips did nothing to settle his stomach. She was plotting revenge, and she wasn't going to rest until she had it. At first it felt weird and even a little scary. Anymore it was annoying. When was she going to remove him of his pins and needles? Or was that her plan…?

They continued traveling over Ehmead, heading once again for Capua Nor, when they were greeted at the end of the monster trail by none other than Flynn Scifo and his brigade. Flynn had his sword drawn and stared Yuri down with narrowed eyes. Behind Brave Vesperia, more knights had them surrounded. This was an ambush…

"Flynn…? Hey! What's going on here?" Yuri asked, watching the knights flooding from their hiding spots. "I thought this whole mess was behind us now."

"Yuri… You just won't give it up, will you?"

"Give what up? I haven't done anything illegal recently."

Flynn frowned. "Are you sure? We received a tip that you impersonated a royal citizen for personal gain. That you took advantage of an imperial citizen as well as a royal family member, and then fled the scene of the crime. Not only that, but I hear it was you who killed the Duce of Palestralle and you backed up the Don of Dahngrest's murderer. I thought it would end with Cumore and Ragou, but it seems that isn't the case."

"Wait, what?! You've been seriously misinformed!" But Yuri glanced behind him to see Rita showing the same smirk that he had given her. "Rita…."

"What? I haven't done anything…" Rita said.

"Yuri, it's time you were punished for your crimes. You are under arrest and you are going back to Zaphias for your punishment. Do not resist or I will be forced to tack that on that charge as well."

"Hold on, Flynn. You heard the twisted version of everything. First off, the Don's death was a suicide, I was his second. Belius died because of an interaction with Estelle's power and Belius went out of control. If you mean by 'taking advantage of a royal family member and an imperial citizen' that I was scaring the wits out of Rita and Estelle, then I suppose I am guilty of that. And impersonating a royal citizen? She was dead, and I was only whispering to scare Rita as a joke. I didn't mean any harm by it."

"But nonetheless, they are true, correct?" Flynn asked.

Yuri glanced back at Rita. "This isn't funny."

"No, it's not." Rita replied. "But neither are crimes you committed."

"You have to be kidding me…" Yuri said.


End file.
